The French forward, who had been resting in the Copa del Rey, returned to the starting XI.
After nearly a month, Kylian Mbappé is back in Real Madrid’s starting lineup. As expected, first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also returned to his post.
Real will face Levante in their La Liga match on Saturday at 7 PM Bangladesh time.
At Santiago Bernabéu, coach Álvaro Arbeloa made his debut by reinstating Fede Valverde in defense. The other three defenders are Raúl Ansedeio, Álvaro Carreras, and Dean Hausen.
The midfield trio consists of Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, and Aurélien Tchouaméni.
In attack, Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior are joined by Gonzalo García.
Mbappé last started a match for Real on December 20. The French forward has been struggling with a knee injury. He missed the Spanish Super Cup semi-final and appeared only briefly in the final, with little impact. He was rested in the Copa del Rey defeat against Albacete.
With 18 goals, Mbappé is currently La Liga’s top scorer. No other player has scored more than 11 goals, and no other Real Madrid player has netted more than five in the league this season.
After suffering consecutive defeats in all competitions, Real now face the challenge of bouncing back. Arbeloa has selected what is likely his strongest possible lineup.
With 45 points from 19 matches, Real sit in second place, trailing Barcelona, who top the table with 49 points from the same number of matches.
